A new state program promised students from low-performing schools the chance of scholarships - for this fall.

But as school starts across the region, there are no scholarships for those students.

The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program, signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in July, is supposed to offer scholarships of up to $8,500, or up to $15,000 for special education students, to attend school elsewhere. Almost all of the approved schools are private.

As of Tuesday, the state has not received any confirmations that businesses have donated to the newly approved scholarship organizations, according to Steven Kratz, spokesman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

That leaves parents across the state without knowing if their children can receive scholarships for this year.

Scholarships may be available for the second half of the school year and should be "readily available" by next fall, Kratz said.

"We just ask for parents and schools to bear with us," he said.

Students who live in the boundaries of public schools that rank in the bottom 15 percent based on the combined math and reading scores on 2010-11 standardized tests, and from families with incomes below $60,000, plus $12,000 for each dependent member of the household, are eligible to apply.

Hazleton Area High School and Hazleton Area Elementary/Middle School are two of six schools in Luzerne County to fall in the bottom 15 percent. GAR Memorial Junior/Senior High School, and Dodson, Kistler and Heights elementary schools in Wilkes-Barre are the others.

In Lackawanna County, students from George Bancroft and John F. Kennedy elementary schools in Scranton and Mid Valley High School in Throop are eligible. The Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation, one of the state's approved scholarship organizations, has received more than 50 applicants for the program. But class started Monday, with no scholarships to be granted.

The state has made $50 million in tax credits available to businesses. Tax credits are applied against the tax liability of a business for the tax year in which the contribution is made. About $10 million in tax credits of the available $50 million has been granted, Kratz said.

Once businesses receive approval from DCED, they have 60 days to make contributions directly to the scholarship organizations. The businesses then have 90 more days to inform the DCED that the contribution was made, Kratz said. Businesses could not start applying for the credits until Aug. 8.

The diocese has not received any confirmation from businesses that they have been approved for the tax credit, William Genello, diocesan spokesman, said. Some families have already enrolled their children, hoping scholarships become available, he said.

Wyoming Seminary's scholarship organization has also received applicants, but has no scholarships to give, said John Shafer, vice president of advancement for the school.

Both the diocese and Wyoming Seminary will grant scholarships for this school year once they are received, officials said.

While DCED cannot officially ask businesses to make their donations quickly, they are encouraged to "donate right away," Kratz said.

In the last month, schools have been approved to accept students, scholarship organizations were established and parents began applying for scholarships.

"We anticipated it would take some time to get the program up and running," Kratz said.

shofius@timesshamrock.com

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